Comments on: Thank You, 4000

By: CJ

CJ — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:37:28 +0000

I’m sorry, Chris, you’re just plain wrong. We didn’t waste time, money and lives and Vietnam and we didn’t waste them in Iraq. As much as I mourn the loss of my fellow Soldiers, each of their losses is worth the freedom of millions. My death would be just as worthy. I’m sorry you don’t feel that way, but you’ll never convince me.

By: Chris Rhodes

Chris Rhodes — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:13:05 +0000

4000 and counting. Yes honour them down to the last, but when its all said and done just like Vietnam it will have all been a waste of time, money and lives.

I love soldiers one and all and I value their lives too much to waste on another Vietnam.

Guys 4000 dead is not a reason to kill another 4000 in pursuit of an unatainable goal. The top brass got it wrong from the start underestimating the enemy, nothing I have seen recently tells me they have got it right.

By: sue

sue — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:56:07 +0000

I would like to say that any one who has a family member or friend who would like to have them remembered on They Have Names, (theyhavenames.com) please email me (sue@theyhavenames.com) with any information you have and I will make sure they get on my list to be researched and profiled. The website is dedicated to the memory of these fine men and women and gives them names, and faces, and tells the stories of their lives. It’s more of a celebration of their lives than a counting of their deaths.

By: julie

julie — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:33:06 +0000

Firstly, I want to thank all those who serve and sacrifice…all of the fallen and their families, along with those who are wounded and their families. Words really can’t express adequately my humble gratitude, but I will be forever grateful to each and every one.
Thank you so much for posting this. I agree with what you’ve said wholeheartedly.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:10:31 +0000

I thank ,and remember, all those who have, who are and who will be serving to protect this wonderful country we live in!! Your post was awesome CJ, I learned alot of new information that I can use when defending the 4000 Heroes to the extremists!!
Our family remembers with love and pride…PFC Justin Paton

By: yankeemom

yankeemom — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:35:25 +0000

Amen, CJ and thank you ~

And a resounding Soldier’s Mom’s HOOAHH!!

We are so blessed as a nation to have such fine men and women who stepped up in the most challenging of times.

By: Tom the Redhunter

Tom the Redhunter — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:12:43 +0000

Re the post; absolutely right that now we have 4,000 reasons to win. And for all the mistakes we made early on, we’re on the right track now.

“I were king for a day, that would be my first demand – start paying for our presence there or we really do leave. We’re there at their request.

Well… no. We’re there because it is in our own interest for us to be there, not out of the goodness of our hearts. Leaving if the Iraqis don’t pay us would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Besides, it would open us to the charge of being mercenaries, something that the Jihadist media would exploit to the fullest. And besides the bombs and bullets, we are in a war of ideas and propaganda.

Don’t get me wrong; I think it is a good thing that we are there because it is in our interest to be there. We had lots of valid reasons to invade, and lots of valid reasons to stay.

It’s like our presence in western Europe during the Cold War; we were protecting Europe because it was in our interest to do so. Sure, I too wish they had shouldered more of the burden of their own defense. Maybe we should have even pressured them more to do so. But what if we had left Europe in, say 1978 because we felt that Europe wasn’t paying “their fair share” and a year later the Soviets overran the continent? Would we really sit back and with self-satisfaction say “told you so!” ?

By: SSgtJ

SSgtJ — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:38:34 +0000

Please let me add my voice to the chorus above. Rest in peace all 4000 of you. May God calm the heart and sooth the minds of the family, friends and loved ones of each of you. Yes, you are numbers, and yes you are names, and as Sue said above, you are also faces, and lives and souls. Faces that we see every day in our minds, bodies that we feel every day in our arms as we hold you and watch you take your last breath. We also thank each of you that have been hurt physically, emotionally, financially, and more … God bless all of you, and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because of you, we will continue the march …

By: sue

sue — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:25:44 +0000

My heartfelt thanks to the Heroes who gave all, the families who gave so much, and those who have sacrificed and live with the results of those sacrifices in the name of Freedom. There are names, 4000 of them, each with a story. Each who lived a life, often an extraordinary life. And we owe it to each and every one of them to tell their story, to remember always the price they paid for all of us.

I too have my list of names who have touched me in some way:

Spc Joey Graves, Cpl Kory Weins, SSD Cooper, Cpl Lance Springer, Lance Cpl Rogelio Ramirez, Sgt Bobby Rapp, SSG Michael Gabel, Sgt Michael Stokely, Cpl Mike Rojas, Sgt Ross Clevenger, Pfc Raymond Werner, Cpt Michael Cerrone and Sgt Jim Holtom.

Halfway down the road to hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddler’s Green.
-Author Unknown

God Bless.

By: wordsmith

wordsmith — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:40:17 +0000

You said it well back at 2000, CJ. Still applies today.